Wednesday, September 16, 7:30 p.m.

The Water Giver: A Story of a Mother, a Son, and Their Second Chance  BUY NOW

Part meditation on motherhood, part medical drama, THE WATER GIVER is the gripping story of a child's near-fatal accident and a mother's battle to rebuild her relationship with her son.  When Joan brought her adopted son home from the hospital when he was only a few days old, she had visions of herself as a patient and kind mother with a close and loving bond with her son.  But within a few years, Joan and her husband realized that Ryan's temperament was different then his playmates.  They discovered that he suffered from both a mild form of autism and ADHD, causing him to struggle with school and social situations.  His odd and defiant behavior confounded and exasperated his parents. 

Though she loved Ryan fiercely, Joan always questioned herself as a mother, and wondered if her reactions to Ryan's outbursts were selfish or judgmental.  She spent years crying herself to sleep with the guilt that Ryan would probably be better off with someone more patient.   When Joan is called to the hospital and told her now 16-year old son had a seemingly minor skateboarding accident, she assumes it will mean a few stitches and a wasted afternoon.  Instead, she spends months in the hospital, watching her son fight back from the brink of death.   

In this bracingly honest and ultimately redemptive memoir, Joan Ryan raises important questions about how we handle adversity and what it means to be a mother and to give up yourself entirely for another human being. 

Photo Credit: Deanne Fitzmaurice